Dorchester Times: News Roundup: Memorial Day Services At 10 A.M. Monday At Dorchester Cemetery

Sunday, May 28, 2017

News Roundup: Memorial Day Services At 10 A.M. Monday At Dorchester Cemetery

Memorial Day Services at Dorchester Cemetery 10 A.M., Pleasant Hill 11 A.M.: On Memorial Day, do not forget the reason behind the holiday. The Dorchester American Legion's Veterans Memorial Day program is a tradition in our area we are proud to honor. It is a heartfelt tribute to our fallen military heroes -- past and present -- who sacrificed their lives for freedom and to protect our country. The Dorchester Legion's ceremonies will be held Monday, May 29 -- 10 a.m. at the Dorchester Cemetery, followed by an 11 a.m. service at the Pleasant Hill Cemetery. Ceremonies will be conducted by Dorchester Legion Post 264. Lunch follows services at Dorchester Legion Hall.

DHS Alumni Association Scholarships Go To Velder, Ruiz: The Times has learned that Bailey Velder and Maru Ruiz, both members of the DHS Class of 2017, were the winners of $500 scholarships provided by the Dorchester Alumni Association at Saturday's banquet held at the DHS gymnasium. The scholarship money was made available through the generous donations of DHS alumni. To see the DHS Alumni Association's Facebook page, click here.

Jacee Weber, Brittney Zoubek Named 'Class Acts' by Lincoln Newspaper: 2017 graduates Jacee Weber and Brittney Jean Zoubek have been named 'Class Acts' by the Lincoln Journal Star. The newspaper noted that among Weber's honors were National Honor Society; NCPA Academic All-State, 2015-17; KLKN Runza Student Athlete of the Month; 2016 State Track Triple Jump; and Student Council president Weber is headed to Wayne State College to study biology (pre-med). Zoubek's honors include DHS honor roll, all semesters; State Journalism medalist, five times; 4.0 GPA; Youth sports coach; and Academic All-State Basketball. She is going to Southeast Community College for business administration.

Friend Newspaper Runs Story on Dorchester's June 3 Concert: Dorchester will hold a major street dance this coming Saturday, June 3 -- and the Friend Sentinel has published a story on it. As the paper writes, "Platinum-selling country artist Jerrod Niemann is bringing his live show to City Slickers Country Nights Street Party in Dorchester at City Slicker’s Bar and Grill, 703 Washington Ave., Saturday, June 3, at 7 p.m." Click here to read the story.

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Dorchester: A Good Little Family Town

Dorchester, Nebraska (est. population 630) is located in northern Saline county. Close in proximity to Interstate 80, Dorchester is only 25 minutes from the state capital of Lincoln (est. population 250,000) and about 55 minutes from Omaha (metro population 725,000).

Dorchester's median resident age is 37 years. In 2005, Dorchester had a median family income of approximately $35,600. The median house value was about $63,000. About 95 percent of Dorchester residents commute to work via Interstate and highways.

The village has a quality public school, which received a $4.1 million expansion and modernization in 2008; it offers a small classrooms and individualized attention. Total enrollment of grades K-12 is around 230-250 students.

Ancestries of the Dorchester area are primarily German (42.4%), Czech (24.9%), Irish (12.5%), English (5.4%), and Dutch (4.9%).

Dorchester Historical Facts

* On July 4, 1871, the railroad reached Dorchester.
* Incorporated in 1881, Dorchester's population grew from 200 to 500 by 1882.
* In 1882, Dorchester had 90 buildings, 35 of which were businesses or public facilities. Brick buildings lined both sides of Washington Avenue for two blocks.
* Dorchester's longest-running newspaper was The Dorchester Star, which was published until the late 1940s.
* By 1889, Dorchester's population is said to have reached 800, while the town housed an opera house, a two-story brick schoolhouse with a bell tower, and four churches.
* By the 1910s, Dorchester had electricity, a water tower and a fire department.
* Dorchester's main arteries, Highways 6 and 33, were graveled in the 1940s.
* Dorchester's first irrigation well was drilled on Chris Weber's farm and rural electrification was finished following WWII.

A Village with History

Dorchester is one of the "alphabet towns" on the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad line built west from Lincoln. The town site was selected for its pleasant location in the northern part of Saline County, about eight miles west of Crete. This situation is an attractive one, being on the level prairie land, midway between the West Blue River and Turkey Creek. The first named stream is three miles north, and the latter about the same distance south from the town. Dorchester was platted in 1870 and incorporated in 1881. The name "Dorchester" came from either for a suburb of Boston by that name or a town in England. No one is sure. Two of the very first settlers were James Seely and Edward McIntyre, who both made Dorchester their permanent home.

Dorchester: In The Beginning

Here is a look at Dorchester around 1890, less than a decade after its official incorporation, as documented by Andreas' History of the State of Nebraska:
* POPULATION: "About 300, and is made up of a substantial and progressive class of citizens, who are moral and industrious. ... The town grew but very little until the year 1879, for the reason that Pleasant Hill, on Turkey Creek, a short distance south, was the county seat and naturally drew a trade for quite a large scope of country."
* BUSINESS: "The business and professional interests of the town are represented by three general merchandise stores, two drug, one grocery, one furniture, two hardware, and two millinery stores, one bank, two restaurants, two hotels, three livery stables, a post office, one newspaper office, two elevators, two lumber yards, two coal yards, two blacksmith shops, two lawyers and four physicians."
* SCHOOL: "The schoolhouse is a good one. The schoolhouse was built in 1872, since which time the public schools have been continually kept up. The present schoolhouse is 24' x 40' in size, two stories high. The school is graded and consists of three departments. The house is found too small, and arrangements will soon be made to increase its size."
* CHURCHES: "There are three substantial churches."
* HOMES: "The residence portion of the village is made up of neat houses of different styles of architecture, but none of them very large."
* NEWSPAPER: "The Dorchester Star, which was established August 21, 1881, by H. C. Bittenbender, who edited it until January 19, 1882, when he sold it to Ryerson & Bullock, the present proprietors. The Star is a bright weekly paper, five-column quarto, in size, and is Republican in politics."